Max
Script - Dialogue Transcript

Voila! Finally, the Max
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the movie starring Noah
Taylor as Adolph Hitler, as well as John Cusack, Leelee Sobieski, Molly Parker,
etc. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Max. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.

Max
Script

George.
So glad you like it.
Rothman?
Who's this Rothman?
Max Rothman.
Isn't his father in shoes?
- Think so.
- Shoes or frocks.
Shoes, frocks, or stocks.
The Duke of Westminster used
to own a spaniel called "Jew"--
except when his Rothchild
banker came over.
Then they called him "Joe."
Oo-ooh, champagne.
Max.
Why are you wasting this divine
tipple on these swine?
lnsecurity, I suppose.
lnsecurity is the mother
of an overdraft.
- Oo-ooh.
- George Grosz.
l hear the sound
of new money.
l'm for sale.
l might pay for
this evening yet.
Come.
Take care of Grosz for me.
George.
George!
A moment.
- Mr. Epp.
- Oh.
Mrs. Epp, I think Max would like
a quick word with you.
George, do you want a drink?.
Hello, hello.
- So nice to see you.
- Hello.
l have a Monet downstairs.
- Monet? Why?
- Yes.
l thought this might be
a tad too modern for you.
Are you questioning
my modernity?
- God, no, no.
- I hate those waterlilies,
it always reminds me
of a gardening catalogue.
Maybe you'd like to see it?
Are you sure?
- l'll go down and get it.
- l'll take the Ernst.
And who is this funny fellow
who looks like a butcher?.
- Grosz, George Grosz.
- l'll take two of him.
Excellent.
Didn't know you had a Monet.
l don't.
How are you?
Don't spiel me.
Where's your wife?
Waiting for her entrance,
l suppose.
- And where's that leave me?
- Talented, with options.
l'm tired of options.
You're too young
to be tired of options.
l'd really love
to see you again.
Tell me, Max,
where's the future in it?
The future?
No...
l've seen the future.
Believe me,
it came straight at us.
There's no future
in the future.
So you might as well--
Nina,
mon amour.
Nice to see you.
Hello, darling.
- How'd it go?
- Hm-mm.
l fell out at every turn,
but they seemed to like it.
- That's what matters.
- lt's going well?
Who knows?
Do you know
what you look like?
Like your wife, I hope.
No. Like a woman
defying gravity.
That's what we do,
us ladies.
l left my cigarettes
at the theater.
Poppy.
The champagne.
Poppy.
There's one more case
on the sidewalk.
- And these are on loan.
- l'll pay you back with interest.
- The th?
- Yeah, the list. And you?
th.
Hussars.
Nah, cavalry.
- Where do you want it?
- Thank you.
lnside the door.
Thank you, Corporal.
ls this your building?
ls this some sort of club?
- I sell art.
- ln here?
- Uh-huh. ls that a portfolio?
- Yeah.
Fork it over,
let's take a look.
What's your market then?
- Mostly modern stuff.
- Oh, modern.
Like uh...
next time I have diarrhea
l'll take a shit on a canvas
and bring it round to you, huh?
You could do worse.
l certainly wouldn't
reject it out of hand,
l'm open to everything.
Would you like a cigarette?
They give you
cancer of the lung.
Are you a doctor?.
Hello, darling.
Liselore von Peltz,
this is Corporal--
Hitler.
Adolf Hitler.
Hello.
Thank you for coming.
- ls she your wife?
- My wife's inside.
- You're a funny one.
- Come in.
- Have a glass of champagne.
- I don't drink.
- That's original.
- Yes, well--
- best be on my way.
- Thanks again for the hand.
The th?
We were together at Ypres.
Yes, we were.
Perhaps only a few
kilometers apart.
l did some modern stuff
in the trenches.
That I would very much
like to see.
You know where to find me.
Max Rothman.
Das Eisern Werk.
How do you like your fish,
Daddy?
Mm-mm, lovely.
Ja, that was delicious.
Are you finished?
You hardly touched it.
l don't know how
you stay so thin.
- She has a parasite.
- I don't, thank God.
Yes, yes, but tell her about
that girl in the company.
Oh, Esther swallowed
a tapeworm.
On purpose.
- A Jewish girl did this?
- Isn't that fabulous?
- Why?
- To lose weight, Mammy.
l don't think this is
dinnertable conversation.
Yes, but thank God it's lunch
and we're all grown up.
As a medical man,
don't you find that fascinating?
Here is a girl
who has a certain--
a certain aesthetic standard
which she... adheres herself to--
l don't think this is
an appropriate conversation.
l know, I know,
it certainly isn't.
But wouldn't the condition
be chronic if it took, Nin?
Did it?
All right.
Let's talk about...
the weather, literally.
Have you been outside today?
Isn't it gorgeous?
l think it's what the English
call an lndian summer.
But it's November.
l don't think Max is saying
that it isn't, Dad.
Isn't that what they call the last days
of October, November--
- lndian summer?.
- No, no, that's autumn.
What they call fall.
l'm going for a stroll.
He hasn't been able to sit still
since he came back.
Balls!
He was already a neuropath
before the war.
Do you know what Ferdi
told me yesterday?
Doctors
are mostly judged
by their hands.
Fucking bourgeois prick.
Our commander lost half
the battalion because he had
- a "von" before his name.
- You're saying the Russians are right?
l'm saying we shouldn't be
so quick to judge them,
- maybe they're onto something.
- They're onto something all right.
- They never should have killed the tsar.
- Really?
Why?
Because the tsar
was such a good guy?
What about those kids,
did they deserve a bullet?
- And that little boy?
- To make stew, you gotta chop meat.
And what kind of stew
is that, soldier?.
Speak up.
Hello, hello.
No, no, no, don't get up.
A little taste for everyone.
Nothing's wrong with that.
Nothing at all.
But let's take a closer look
at these stew chefs.
Marx...
Jew.
Lenin...
mongrel Jew.
Trotsky...
Jew from "A" to "z."
Yeah, so?
Did you ever know a Jew
to do anything
for anybody else,
except raise your rent?
What do you think, Corporal?
l don't believe
in anti-Semitism.
Not in emotive
anti-Semitism anyway.
What the hell
does that mean?
lt means I don't believe
that anti-Semitism
should be based on emotions--
which just leads to pogrom
and anarchy--
but rather on the facts.
l'm not sure I quite understand
your point, Corporal.
My point is, Captain,
that the Semitic question
is far too important
to be left to the individual.
lt ought to be in the domain
of the government,
like public health
or sewage.
l think you look handsome.
What's the price on this?
l'm not gonna bite.
Seven marks for the suit.
Two marks for the shirt.
And the tie--
we'll call it an even .
- Why put a gallery in an ironworks?
- You know what they used to make here?
Locomotives.
And now they're recovering the iron and steel
and selling it as scrap.
Beating swords
into ploughshares?
That wouldn't be
a bad lead.
No, no, that's too soft,
that's too pacifistic.
- Not subversive enough.
- Subversive?
Yes, subversive.
l mean, Jesus God,
what a giant piece of kitsch
theater this last war was.
lt was all fought on rail
and yet the Kaiser went on horse
surrounded by the princes with
the regiments and the banners
snapping in the breeze
like it was Agincourt.
But it wasn't Agincourt,
was it?
But you're
an ex-cavalry man.
So I know exactly
of which I speak.
And from now on we must make art
with the same unsentimentality,
the same principles that we would
the manufacture of bayonets.
Bayonets?
Yes, or maybe wash bins would work.
- No, we'll stick with bayonets.
- Bayonets is a lot sharper.
- Yes it is. Yes.
Mind if we take
a look around?
Be my guest.
Ah, Corporal Hitler.
"Hit-ler."
Not living in
the barracks anymore?
lt's not like there's a lot
of cheap housing
around for vets, is there?
No, I suppose there isn't.
- Can I offer you some coffee?
- No, I never touch it.
No caffeine, no alcohol,
no nicotine, no meat.
- You're an ascetic.
- Not at all, l'm a man of the people.
l see you brought
your goods.
Don't expect
anything abstract.
l'm a great believer
in Schopenhauer's dictum
that art should proclaim,
"Yes by God,
this is how it really is."
But life can be quite abstract
at times, wouldn't you agree?
How do you mean?
Sometimes "life," as you say,
won't be captured
by the forms and lines
of traditional representation,
- especially not these days.
- I disagree completely.
Art should only ever reflect
the eternal values
and the natural laws,
especially these days.
But aren't these eternal values
and natural laws
in flux these days?
Aren't they meant to be
shrinking and expanding?
What are you, some kind
of intellectual wet fart?
The eternal values are:
harmonious proportions;
nobility and dignity;
and the continuation
of the cultural evolution,
where each generation stands
upon the shoulders of the next
and improves the work
of the last.
But this is...
no, steps backwards.
This is the undoing
of the previous generations.
This is filth!
This is blood poisoning.
Are you a friend
of Marinetti's?
ls that what this is about?
Yes? Some sort of mad
reverse futurist?
- Futurists?
- Yes, ltalians.
They experienced the war
"pictorially."
Like you, l'm hoping.
Some of the ltalians
fought well.
He served, right?
Grosz? Yes he did,
Grenadier Guards, I think.
- Bolshie, huh?
- No, not really.
- Just pissed off.
- Oh, yeah.
What's he pissed off about?
He thinks people should have
the right to strike.
And you, Rothman?
- Are you pissed off?.
- About the right to strike?
No, about your arm.
You were gonna
be a painter, right?
You're a funny one.
- Well?
- I think it's good,
but I think you could go
even deeper.
Deeper?.
- What do you mean, deeper?.
- I mean it's good,
but I sense you're just
scratching at the surface.
When I look at this work
l see a pretty solid technique,
but what I am missing
is an authentic voice.
One gets the feeling that
you're holding something back
and for the work to really leap forward,
to take the next step.
l keep going back to this notion
of an authentic voice.
What I mean to say is,
l was there,
and you were there, and
l know what it looked like,
but what did it feel like?
That's what we want to know,
isn't it?
Does any of what
l'm saying resonate?
l suppose what l'm trying
to say is
you have to go as deep
as you possibly can.
Then you have
to gather yourself
and say, "Okay, I just broke
the surface deeper still."
You know, Rothman...
when I came back
from this war,
l came back to nothing.
Really nothing.
No homeland,
no home,
no parents,
no family,
no fiancee,
no profession,
no job,
no food,
no closet full of...
old hockey sticks
and tennis rackets.
Not even an address.
All I have in this world
is the conviction
that I am a great artist
and a master builder.
And you just stole
from that.
From the one thing
that's mine--
a rich boy like you.
So, if art as an object
is dead,
why is everything
so expensive?
Otherwise nobody would buy it.
Soldier # :
You Bolshie bastard.
Fucking communist.
Soldier # :
Fucking comrade communist.
Soldier # : Bastard.
Soldier # : Bolshie.
Soldier # :
Bolshevik.
Soldier # :
Get up.
Soldier # :
Come on, you stupid pig.
Looks like Corporal Hitler had
a difficult time in the city.
Soldier # :
Communist bastard.
Keeping warm, Corporal?
Friend of yours?
lt's a study for a work called
"The Cultural Consumptive."
l know the type.
Just clever enough to be unhappy.
You're an interesting man.
Artists aren't known for their nerve.
You were awarded the lron Cross,
first class, weren't you?
Would you like to learn
how to speak in public?
We're offering a course
to certain people.
- What kind of course?
- A course in a new kind of science.
lt is called propaganda.
- The course consists of--
- Yes, I know about propaganda.
Well it also consists
of philosophy,
history, economics.
l'm going to be frank
with you, Corporal,
we're in trouble.
Germany's balanced
on a razor's edge.
Will she fall to the left
or to the right?
l think that depends largely
on the army, sir.
You strike me as an unusually
perceptive man, Corporal.
May we count on you?
Of course, the army will pay
for your expenses.
Hm-mm?
Lads, may I present
for your edification
Herr von Lieberfelt
and his troupe?
Sorry,
Major von Lieberfelt.
Men, good evening.
l'm here to present you
with a challenge.
Have you ever noticed that
the Jews only fuck each other?.
Why?
Because they guard
the purity of their blood.
So, if we guard the purity
of our blood
the way they guard
the purity of their blood,
we see the world
as it really is.
Our divine ancestors,
the Aryans,
came to Earth
from outer space.
Forged in a matrix
of ice and war,
Ar became the first
divine artist warrior.
But then...
the Aryan was lead
into temptation
by soft swarthy people
from bountiful lands.
Shh-hh.
Shh-hh.
And Ar's blood is polluted.
And Ar grows weak.
And Ar becomes
the slave of the Jews.
Grail Knights!
Yes,
because you are
Grail Knights.
lf we guard the purity
of our blood,
we have it
in our power to again
straddle the Earth
like supermen.
Mr. Rothman:
l eat a little grilled fish,
no meat-- no red meat--
lots of fruit,
lots of green vegetables,
cheese.
Nina's father:.
How are you sleeping?
- Six hours a night.
- That's not enough.
That's too much.
l sleep too much.
No stimulants.
l'm off coffee.
Everything has to be bio now.
Steamed vegetables.
- He has a new doctor.
- Why doesn't he come see me?
You don't charge enough.
l've lost lbs.
l'm in and out of the tailor
all the time.
l don't charge enough?!
What does she mean?!
Hullo, it's Hamlet.
Hello, all. Doctor, Anna.
Mother, may I say
you look very well?
You owe me two cases--
no, three cases--
l'll put them in the car
before you leave.
Do you know the difference between
a Jewish mother and a Rottweiler?.
Yes.
- Poppy, you've lost weight.
- You noticed?
Eventually the Rottweiler
lets go.
We have coffee, we have cake,
we have sherry,
we have indigestion
just looking at it.
He doesn't eat.
- He has my delicate system.
- He should come and see me.
- Hello.
- Hey, sis.
Excellent, you brought
the brood.
- Hi, sweetie.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- Hey, Max.
- Hello there.
- Hello. Poppa.
? Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you ?
? Happy Birthday, dear Paulie ?
? Happy Birthday to you. ?
All: Yeah!
- Plates, please--
- Plates, please.
Would you like some cake?
Thank you for your plate.
Such a lovely boy.
As I was saying, Max,
it's a bubble, a chimera.
Everybody and his mother wants
to be a speculator these days,
and nobody knows
what they're doing.
Never been in it in my life,
you know that.
Not productive.
All anybody wants to talk about
today is the market.
Such a bore.
How's your sentimental life?
Torrid. Yours?
Arid, but sunny.
And how is
your sentimental life?
That's not a penis,
is it?
l think she might be
dreaming of one.
You have much more fun
in your day than we had in mine.
Men!
l have terrible news.
Our government, if you can
call this group of Jews,
homosexuals, and draft dodgers
a government,
has accepted a peace
in Versailles,
a piece so unjust, it will
surely lead to another war,
thank God.
Thank God,
because an army at peace
is like a whore at mass--
no bloody good to anyone.
So men, I want you
on the street today,
and here's the message:
"Stabbed in the back."
By who, sir?.
- Who said that?
- Me.
Doesn't matter.
Doesn't matter.
What matters is that Germany
is absolved from having
lost the war and prepared
to wage the next one.
Fellow loses a game,
he doesn't want to play anymore.
You tell him he lost
because someone else cheated,
then you have to hold him back
from picking up the cards again.
Just remember,
the army is the only vital
element of our society.
War is vitality.
War is the hygiene
of the world.
Yes?
( singing in German )
( gunshot )
( gunshot )
( gunshot )
- Versailles, no, no, no.
- The treaty is unfair.
Versailles, no, no, no.
Germany for the Germans.
- What are they saying?
- Versailles.
Give us back our land!
They're saying Versailles.
"Here are the terms
of the treaty of Versailles.
Germany is to cede
Alsace-Lorraine to France--"
What?
"--Upper Silesia and West
Prussia to Poland."
- Poland?
- "The army will be reduced to men.
France will occupy
the Rhineland
for the next years
and Germany will assume a war
debt of million gold marks."
There aren't million marks
in this entire country.
"Furthermore,
Germany is to sign
a so-called war guilt clause
in which she assumes
sole responsibility
for the war."
l'm ashamed to be German today.
- Hey.
- Hey.
There's a meeting
down the street.
l didn't serve,
l just played the market.
l lost my arm in the crash.
Come on, brother.
...Alsace-Lorraine to France.
This is disgusting!
We are being stabbed
in the back!
Just 'cause you take it
in the ass.
- Stabbed in the back!
- This guy is full of shit.
He works for the army.
He's a provocateur.
And look at his muscle.
- Bastards, fucking bastards.
- Let him be, boys, let him be.
A provoc--
A provac--?
That's a French word,
isn't it?
No wonder I can't get
my tongue around it.
You ever notice
with chaps like this
that their French
is really good?
So's their Russian--
better than their German,
actually.
l'll tell you who I am,
because l've got
nothing to hide.
l'm a little man,
four years in the trenches.
Don't speak French.
Don't know the Latin.
Never made it past corporal.
Guess that's because I didn't
have a "von" before my name.
You might say
l'm the unknown soldier
just like you.
- What do you think?.
- I think he's a nothing, sir.
He's got a big mouth.
- Gassed, almost went blind...
- You're right, he's a nothing.
Perhaps that's his secret.
Perhaps it's the age
of the nothing.
Lots of lads got it worse.
Now l'm back
looking for a job.
Can't find one, though.
- Paid marks for a suit.
- You paid too much.
That's what I said to the Jew
who sold it to me.
l can see where
this is going.
- Make no mistake,
- Nothing new, nothing new.
Germany's greatest enemy
lives within.
Herr Rothman.
Herr Rothman, l'm--
l'm honored.
l happened to be
in the neighborhood, so--
l'm sorry I left so--
abruptly the other day.
You know what they say
in Spain, don't you?
No, I don't.
lt's easy to fight the bull
from the barrera.
Bullfighting
is completely immoral.
- lt's vile and disgusting.
- No, no.
lt means it's easier to be
a critic than an artist.
What did you think
of my speech?
Let's just say
if you were to put
the same amount of energy
into your art as you do
your speaking,
you may have something going.
l best be on my way.
Hitler, come on, l'll buy you
a glass of lemonade.
Come on.
Where'd you get
the sunglasses?
Progg and Fromm.
Try 'em.
Chic.
Very chic, Rothman.
- Can I get another coffee? Strong.
- Waiter:. Yes, sir, l'll get it.
So you're an anti-Semite?
- - On the contrary, I admire the Jews.
- Really?
Yes, they're very
intelligent people.
There are intelligent ones
and not so intelligent ones...
They're all intelligent because
they guard the purity of their blood.
- What?
- The purity of the blood.
Because the secret of the Jews
lies in their pure Jewish blood.
That's why they're the mightiest
counterpart to the Aryan race.
- What's the secret?
- ls your father Jewish?
- Yes, he is.
- Mother?.
Why not ask whether
she's a German?
Mensch!
Of course your mom's Jewish.
You're an awfully hard man
to like, Hitler,
but l'm gonna try,
because if l've learned anything
over the past four years,
it's that we all
shit the same,
scream the same,
and die the same.
There's no need for vulgarity,
Rothman.
l know where you've been
and God knows we've all been
turned into assholes there.
Listen to me well,
you may not think
you're an anti-Semite,
- but in fact you are.
- l'm not.
But in this, as in all things,
there's a reason.
Your own hero
Nietzsche
said anti-Semitism is the ideology
of those who feel cheated.
How do you know
Nietzsche's my hero?
- You've obviously skimmed his ideas.
- I don't feel cheated.
Excellent.
Then stop acting like it.
Are you gonna smoke
another cigarette?
- You just put one out.
- Exactly.
Now where is my instinct,
my secret instinct
for self-preservation,
l ask you?
l've heard these theories
all my life.
Blood science, eugenics,
it's rubbish.
lt's complete nonsense,
it's kitsch.
Put it out of your mind.
lt's not modern,
it's not scientific.
lt will hold you back
as an artist.
Speaking of which,
how's your work coming along?
And why are you making those
appalling speeches for the army?
l'm just keeping
my hand in it.
- Keeping your hand in what?
- The army is paying my expenses.
So you don't actually
believe that rubbish.
Don't tell me you're happy
with the "peace."
- Hello, Max.
- Hello, Esther.
How are you, sweetheart?
l think the "peace"
is a travesty.
But I don't think I can be
bothered to pick up
the German banner from the mud
with my left arm.
l gave at the office,
you know.
Yes...
yes, yes, you did.
l'm thinking about writing
a book on politics, you know?.
You're a man
of many talents.
Where do you find
time to paint?
Mensch, use your head.
l'm still in the army.
l'm folding laundry.
l'm cleaning out the shithouses.
Painting costs money.
l don't have a pot to piss in.
Here's what
l'd like to do.
l'd like to take some
of your work off consignment.
Here's an advance against
your future sales.
Spend it any way you like.
Find yourself a nice girl.
Get drunk.
Get out of politics.
Rothman, you--
you've saved my life.
Maybe you're right.
Maybe l've yet to find
my authentic voice.
Maybe I should
get more modern.
lf l'm to be completely
honest with myself,
l've always admired some
of the ideas behind Cubism.
Seems to me you have a great
affinity for ideas.
ls that some clever way of
saying I have poor technique?
Try not to be one of those
people who finds a slight
in any compliment.
l imagine it would just be
altogether too bourgeois
to turn on the heat.
On top of me.
Below me.
lnside of me.
I am always by your side.
l have to go.
Half man, half doll.
Every woman's dream.
Bills, bills, bills, Fraulein.
- Bills are so violent.
- Sorry, sorry--
l couldn't stop him.
There you are, Rothman.
Slept in late, did you?
What are you doing?
What do you mean,
what am I doing?
You told me I had a show.
A show?.
A show?.!
l told you I would take some
of your work on consignment.
They way I understand
that term is
l keep some of your work
informally,
"in trust" as it were
and if I can move it,
l move it.
How are you going
to "move it"
if it's not up?
Am I in your studio
looking over your shoulder?.
No.
So don't teach your grandmother
how to suck eggs.
So you're not actually
going to show the work.
No. And I will tell you why.
"New Works" by Arp,
Ernst, and Grosz
at Das Eisern Werk,
November th to December th.
So after December th.
Can we take it
one step at a time?
Listen, Rothman,
l've lost four years.
Yes, we all lost four years,
some of us a little more.
Do you want a show?.
l'd kill for you
if you gave me a show.
Don't kill for me, please.
Just do what you do.
Be anxious, be nervous.
Tell me you're the unknown
soldier come back to haunt us,
with your brush, with
your brush. Can you do that?
'Cause that's what
you got to do.
You've gotta take this pent up
stuff you're quivering with
and you've gotta hurl it
onto the canvas.
lt doesn't have to be good
and beautiful,
it just has to be true.
And even if it's a lie,
make it an interesting lie
and l'll put it up,
l swear.
You do think l'm talented,
don't you?
l think there's something
rustling behind your curtain.
Good bye.
There are times--
l have these terrible doubts.
Paint them.
Paint your doubts, really!
Well? Well?
One morning, I wish you'd just say,
"Good morning. How did you pass the night?
The lovely Mrs. Rothman?
Your children in good health, I trust?"
You're such a bourgeois.
Any news?
Yes, l'm meeting an American
dentist. A big collector.
Mensch!
That's good, isn't it?
lf I see you anywhere
near that building,
l will personally set fire
to your entire life's work.
Speaking of which, when am l
going to see something new?.
- Soon, soon.
- I need new things.
l'm very motivated by newness.
Newness really does it for me.
There's Dr. and Mrs. Levi.
Hello!
Ah, Levi, huh? You'll make
the sale for sure, huh?
What can one say
about Paul Klee
that hasn't been said
times before?
And on the other end
of the spectrum,
there's a young artist
l've discovered recently
named Hitler.
Less aggressively modern perhaps,
but a real example...
of what I call
"Krieg Kunst."
- War art?
- Precisely, Doctor, precisely.
Not as mannered
or tutored as Max Ernst,
but a very authentic voice
of the trenches.
The voice of the everyman.
The voice of
the unknown soldier.
And as a gesture of solidarity
with Soviet constructivism,
l would only ask five marks
for these pieces.
Hard to go wrong
for five marks.
What do you think,
darling?
They bought the Ernst!
Oh my God.
l'm gonna die in some doorway
like a dog in the street.
A complete unknown!
Nonsense.
l'm-- l'm .
l'm !
Could you put that out,
please?
No, fuck you!
l'm in my own place.
You want the truth?
l'll tell you the truth.
You're a bit lazy.
A chap like Ernst, up at
the crack of dawn, working.
This Ernst,
what's he look like?
- He's rather good looking.
- Rather like me, huh?
Mm-huh.
Eyes?
- Light.
- Hello.
Yes, but could you paint that?
Of course I could.
The man has no technique.
Technique is not what makes
the painting interesting.
What makes it compelling
is what Max Ernst reveals.
You could almost say
he admits, confesses,
about himself.
Could you do that?
Could you be so voluptuous
with yourself?.
Hm-mm?
l think so.
The train is leaving
the station.
One question remains:
- Why aren't you on board?
- I don't know.
l'm in your hands.
Hand.
l've been going to seances.
Really?
That sounds progressive.
Yes, it is. lt's most instructive
to learn how the old German Gods
were usurped by the young
God of lsrael,
the God of guilt,
the projection of slaves.
- Sounds like lunch at my house.
- Always the joker, huh?
Why are we here?
What has this got
to do with modern art?
Nothing, I just like it here.
l thought you were gonna
teach me about modern art.
lt's inhuman what they're doing
to these birds.
- lt's inhuman.
- Why don't you set them free?
That'd be a great art project.
We'd have Chinese nightingales
in the park for years to come.
They'd sing in the snow.
And people would come
for miles around
and they would be known
as Hitler's Nightingales.
Are you on the spike?
ls that what's wrong with you?
Bloody hell!
Damn it!
- Hullo, midgets.
- What are you doing, Dad?
Dad said a bad word.
You are a very clever girl,
Ada, love of my life.
You're right.
That's exactly what Dad has been
thinking about, "words."
Good words...
and bad words.
Because words are magic.
Sometimes I think the world
is strung together by words.
Victory!
Poppy?
Yes, young man?
ln the world upside down,
what would we be doing now?.
ln the world upside down,
we'd be having breakfast.
And what would we have
for breakfast?
ln the world upside down?
Let's see.
For breakfast we'd have
grilled sole,
green beans, new potatoes,
plum pudding for dessert,
yum!
And in the world upside down
right now I would say,
l hate you, I hate you,
l hate you, Paulie.
l'd loathe you beyond reason,
wouldn't l?
Now go to sleep.
And tomorrow we'll fly
around the sun together.
( Nina singing lullaby )
- He would be.
- Hello, darling.
Hi, sweetheart.
George Grosz, Adolf Hitler.
My wife Nina.
- You--
- Hello.
- Grosz: Nice guy.
- Oh, he's a futurist.
- Grosz: Really, what's his name?
- Hitler.
- Never heard of him.
- You will. Are you ready?
Nina: Oh, Hitler.
Are you a painter?.
Yes, l'm an artist.
You are a friend
of my husband's?
Of sorts.
ln August
l volunteered for the army
and was accepted
to my father's old regiment,
the Light Hussars.
l used to think we rode
into the war on horseback,
but now I realize
that in fact
we rode into the war
on words.
Yes, my friend, words.
lf the high command
had used nails
to hammer our feet
to the mud,
l think we would've found
a pair of pliers,
passed them down the line
and made a break for it,
but the words,
the words kept us rooted
to the ground.
Now these are magical words,
used in mass hypnosis.
And if you would like
millions of young men
to give up their lives
for your cause,
you must first
learn these words.
Repeat after me.
The enemy
is "the foe" or "the host."
"The enemy is the foe
or the host."
Danger
is "peril."
"Danger is peril."
To be brave
is to be "gallant."
"To be brave
is to be gallant."
The dead--
oh, yes, the dead,
they're not "dead."
They are "the fallen."
One's chest
is one's "breast."
To move quickly
is to be "swift."
A soldier is--
A warrior.
"A warrior."
War is "strife."
Actions are "deeds."
To die is to "perish."
To sleep is to "slumber."
The sky are the "heavens."
Blood, "elan vital."
And arms and legs...
...are "noble limbs."
Hey, soldier.
Thank you.
lt's disgusting!
lt's revolting!
That was a miscalculation of rare magnitude,
wouldn't you say?
You're the dealer. They want you
to sell their paintings
and make 'em rich, not scare
the fuckin' shit out of 'em.
Darling, that wasn't Paulie's
cowboy hat, was it?
What a masquerade he puts on.
Hussar this,
father's regiment that.
As German as you or l,
butter wouldn't melt
in his mouth.
Finagling himself,
throwing his money around.
Finding himself a German whore
and of course all the while
staying married in the faith.
Always working on the inside
from the outside.
Why, the patient looks
perfectly healthy.
But then you look at the turd,
but really look at it,
and then you see
the worms crawling around.
There weren't any of the men
there, were there?
No, no. Only artists
and the usual degenerates.
- l'm sure they adored it.
- They hated it.
They hated it!
They stood there like stiffs.
lt went
over their head.
This Rothman--
this--
this Rothman--
Rothman made
the whole war look
small and pointless,
ridiculous, absurd.
Don't despair, Junge.
You've got your own talent,
you have to let it out.
Let it out.
...is essentially feminine,
it takes--
- Hello.
- a strong masculine type.
Rothman.
What did you think?.
The other night?
My disaster?.
Did it remind you
of Ypres?
- Or was it just rubbish?
- Yes, what did you think?.
lt didn't remind me
of Ypres.
No?
What did it remind you of,
if anything?
lt reminded me perhaps--
perhaps,
of a particularly
disgusting
and depraved dream
of Ypres.
As opposed to the happy,
glorious one.
Exactly.
Exactly!
Which your piece implies
is ipso facto impossible.
Listen to them, farting higher
than their asshole.
What was that you said, Erich?
- I said--
- Yes, I know what you said.
My question
was rhe-tor-i-cal.
lt's a difficult word,
isn't it, Erich?
Shall I ask you to spell it?
Well, this was fun
but duty calls
and I must mind the store.
Can't give up the day job.
We forgive you for a lot,
don't we?
Forgive and forget, turn the other way
where others wouldn't.
Nicht, Erich?
Nicht?
My God, what philistines
you all are!
Rothman.
How's my career going?
Slow. The whole market's
slow right now.
Who are those gentlemen?
- Guttersnipes.
- Don't seem very good company.
l'm flirting
with politics again.
lt's a party that promotes
the interests of the veteran,
but sometimes you have to build
a base from the base.
Do you?
l'll just have to take
your word for that.
Listen, do you want
to meet some girls?
- Girls?
- Yes, Hitler, girls.
Those brilliant creatures
who make you feel artistic
without doing
a stitch of work.
Come on.
- Afternoon.
- Afternoon.
So there were parts
of it you liked?
l know you're more
of a patriot than I am.
Where'd you come up with
the idea of the toys?
My son.
You should have children.
They give you good ideas.
Ever consider the future,
Hitler?.
The future? I think all
my work's based on the future.
Yes, and what do you see?
Do you see fame,
money, beautiful lovers?
- I see myself teaching.
- Hm-mm.
And you, Rothman?
How do you see the future?
Look inside my pocket.
"Would you die for
the mother-in-law land?"
You're a menace, Rothman.
l got another one for you.
"War is the instrument
with which the happy--"
no, no, reverse that.
"War is the instrument by which
the unhappy turn the happy
- into themselves."
- Mensch.
Don't you know genius
and happiness go together
about as well as
cheese and chalk?.
Cheese and chalk.
Paint that.
No, I disagree.
You know that all great cultures
die from the same cause,
blood poisoning.
Don't you know that all great--
truly great art
comes from the struggle--
the titanic, the epic,
the eternal struggle.
Are you saying all art
should be political?
No, no, no, dear girl,
l'm simply speaking
of the pure blood mixture.
Everything depends
on blood mixture
and the resultant drops
in racial levels.
Hitler's very concerned
with blood.
We think, we hope
it's a metaphor.
He's a futurist. Doesn't he
sort of remind you of Marinetti?
No, no.
- He does a bit.
- What are you doing with this man?
- He's the most horrible creature.
- He doesn't have any friends.
Of course he doesn't have
any friends, he doesn't listen.
- And this thing about blood.
- He had a bad war.
No, darling, you had a bad war.
l'm sure he had a fine war.
What do you
feel guilty about, Max?.
l don't feel guilty.
l think guilt is
a second-rate emotion.
On the other hand,
when I came back from the war,
l came back to my family,
and my bank account,
my parents and the best care.
And he came back to nothing,
but really nothing.
- Clearly you do feel guilty.
- No, but I acknowledge the fact
that I don't know what it's like
to come back to nothing.
Darling, you're wrong.
You've come back to nothing
and every day I see you turn
that into something so beautiful.
l told him the other day
that his insane fucking ideas
were holding him back
as an artist
and he tries,
he really does,
sometimes.
Until tonight, of course,
but that's because he feels
insecure being around
you two lovely ladies.
Just remember,
Florence Nightingale
died of syphilis.
And that means what?
Don't get too close
to your charity cases.
You've got chocolate
all over your mouth.
Thank you.
That's very nice of you.
l just want to know what
he has in that briefcase,
it's the second time
he went to the loo.
He just left.
Fucking bitches.
( knock on door )
Forget about it, Rothman.
May l?
The artist at home.
What an artist you are.
What a vision, so clear--
such focus.
l almost feel guilty
asking you this,
because I don't want to take
you away from your work,
but for a while we've been
taking an interest
in a small political party.
lt has or members.
lt's called the National
Socialist Workers Party.
Don't let the name fool you,
they are as socialist as you and me.
We had a speaker
scheduled for them,
but the fellow's
come down with a cold.
So we were wondering if you'd be
persuaded to say a few words.
But of course,
l understand if
the muses are--
David, what do you think
of the future?
l think it's expensive.
Max.
- How are you?
- Fine. You look fine.
Thank you.
ls that a fur bath?
Yes. Yes, it is.
Yes it is.
Gert is in good health,
l trust?
Yeah, she's fine,
she's fine.
So am l--
in the soup, as they say?
No, no, no, the soup's good.
You're in the shit.
Oh, that's nice.
Max, this is serious.
l know you're just careless,
but the tax people
could easily take
a different position.
Hm-mm.
What do you suggest?
l suggest we write them
a check right away
and we plead forgetfulness
and artistic license.
l can't, l'm skint.
l just gave George an advance.
You promised you were gonna
run this as a business.
Could you borrow
from your father?.
No, I don't want
to bother him.
Arrange for another loan
against Das Eisen Werk.
lt's not so simple.
The boys at the bank are gonna
want to know what it's for.
Ask your dad.
lt's so much simpler,
it's just a loan.
- Hello, Fraulein.
- Hello.
Good bye, Max.
Good bye, David.
What is it that your brother
calls the art business?
Baked air.
Baked air.
That is so...
- great.
- Sorry l'm late, Herr Rothman.
You know that horrible
little tramp who's always
making you feel guilty?
Herr Hitler.
He's making a speech near us,
where we live
and I really think you should
hear what he has to say.
lt's disgusting!
We are being
stabbed in the back!
We won this war!.
Our boys fought like lions!
Like lions!
So why in the name
of Providence
are we giving away
square miles of land
and abandoning six million
of our fellow Germans?!
Because we have been
stabbed in the back!
By the profiteers
and the maggots
and the parasites.
And make no mistake,
Germany's greatest enemy
lives within.
Deutschlanders...!
Deutschlanders...!
Deutschlanders...!
Deutschlanders...!
Deutschlanders...!
Deutschlanders...!
Ah, Rothman.
There you are.
Well, what do you think?.
What can one say?
This is...
the new art.
l realized something that
all you hoity-toity types missed
drinking your coffee,
smoking your cigarettes
with your mistresses.
The way to reinvent art is not to make it
political-- far too small a step.
No, Rothman,
you could say you and I were
ploughing the same
furrows for a while,
but then I made
the bigger leap.
Politics is the new art.
Yes, Rothman,
my whole life
has been a detour
to this moment.
Everything l've struggled
to learn about art,
about design, color,
composition,
theater, opera,
architecture--
l'm gonna stuff it all into this
and make it live again.
l've always thought you to be
an intuitive futurist.
You're so disappointing.
Am I only acceptable to you
if you can classify me?
Isn't that emblematic
of the world we both despise?
What's happened to you?
You're suddenly so conventional.
Go deeper, you said.
Well, I went deep.
l went deeper than any artist
has ever gone before!
Where is the work, my dear?.
Where is the evidence
of this journey into the abyss?
I am the new avant garde!
I am the new artist
practicing the new art!
And politics
is the new art!
Hello.
Hello.
You look pensive.
No, no, no...
l was just thinking--
Where are you going?
l have to return
some drawings.
And l'm being dragged
to shul again tonight.
He just wants to get away
from your mother.
Sometimes I think we're
all marching backwards.
How do I rate?
As a partner?.
Promising.
Especially when you learn
to apply yourself.
While on the subject, I hear
it takes more than one girl
to tell you that
you're still handsome.
But at a certain point...
it starts to get
in the way...
of--
Progress?
Exactly.
You know, progress
really does it for me.
l'll see you tonight.
Well, l'm...
sorry it didn't work out.
Yes. Well, look, Rothman,
you're a--
- a--
- A what, Hitler?.
You're a--
a well-born
sort of person.
By Caesarean, actually.
A nice
sort of person.
There's a lot of people
in this country who don't like--
well-born sorts.
We'll just have to live
with that, won't we?
What's this?
- Some designs.
- Hm-mm.
My God.
That's certainly an alternative
to boring old modernism.
This is some old
new future world,
isn't it?
Yes.
This will be the symbol
for the whole movement,
it's a Sanskrit symbol
for energy,
for the sun,
but l've reversed it.
Yeah this--
that l've seen before.
Yes, but against
a white background?
My God, you really worked
this out, didn't you?
Down to the uniforms
- and--
- Yes, I see.
- And what kind of roads.
- Roads?
Even in the more thickly
populated areas
these large super roads
will create a sense
of open space
and of flying.
Hitler,
this is meant work.
You finally found your voice.
The future...
as a return
to the past.
You wouldn't show it,
would you?
Yes.
l will.
Because this work--
well--
this work
belongs in a gallery.
You're not pulling my leg,
are you? Because--
l do have a career
in politics, you know.
Well, Hitler,
what would you rather do?
Change the way people see
or how they pay their taxes?
Meet me at Metropole,
: .
Bring everything,
the whole shmear.
He's created this
whole new world
and he has all these
flags and drawings
with these Teutonic
references.
That doesn't sound
very futuristic.
No, but you can't say
it's not a coherent vision,
down to detailed notes
on his foreign policy.
He's created these epic roadways
where the traveler
will experience
the feeling of flight.
He's resurrected all
the German gods
and it's all complete kitsch
from "A" to "z."
lt's very interesting,
it's future kitsch.
- God, he sounds mad.
- Oh, he's barking
and what he's pushing makes the Kaiser
seem like a Sunday painter.
- I saw him speak.
- That sounds a bit of a worry.
No, he's dreadful. He just stands there
shouting slogans and posing
and the whole thing's
like a giant art project.
Of course the minute I said
l'd show him--
- Politics went out the window.
- Exactly.
lt's gonna be a big show,
a big, big, show.
- l'm gonna bring in some English artists--
- You can't afford it.
--French ones. There's this
character called Duchamp,
he's very interesting.
He does things with urinals
and wine racks-- says in
the future, everything is art.
Ah, the meshugener show.
Poppy!
The future is subversive.
And I don't want to see
any stiffs up front.
Yesterday there was nothing
but stiffs. I never got going.
l don't have any control
over who's in front.
Mensch, are you daft?
This is about control.
That's the thing about art--
you don't just
slap on the paint,
even if it looks that way.
l need more enthusiasm
up front.
l need the energy,
it's like a loop.
They give it to me,
l give it to them,
they give it to me.
Could you put that out, please?
lt bothers my voice.
And this is the last time.
- No more.
- What are you talking about?
- l'm through.
- You're through?
Find somebody else.
Rothman's gonna
give me a show.
Rothman?
Rothman?
Max Rothman?
Are you mad?
You think Herr Rothman
will lift a finger for you?
You have one of the most
authentic Germanic voices
l've ever heard.
And you're years old.
lt's now or never.
What are you waiting for?.
They are your canvas.
That's your paint.
What are you waiting for?.
Let it out.
Let it out!
( praying in Hebrew )
Today--
today...
l will address something
central to my thinking!
Today, I will address
the Jewish question!
Not long ago
l was strolling
when I suddenly encountered
an apparition
in a black caftan
and black hair locks!
My first question was,
"ls this a Jew?."
And then the more I stared,
the more my first question
assumed a new form,
"ls this a German?!"
No.
ls there any
form of filth,
particularly in cultural life
without a Jew involved in it?!
Because when you cut
into an abscess,
what do you find?!
Like maggots
in a rotting body,
a kike!
With the appearance
of the first settlement,
the Jew is suddenly
at hand!
The stranger is given
a friendly reception!
He soon becomes
an active part
of the economic life
of the settlement!
He begins to lend money!
Now the Jew
is a steady resident!
Commerce and finance have become
his complete monopoly!
He begins a second phase
where he begins to emphasize
his Judaism less
and his Germanism more!
Yes, he becomes,
if you can believe it,
Germanic!
Culturally he contaminates
art and literature!
Theater!.
Religion ridiculed!
Ethics and morality
pissed on!
German girls
turned into whores!
Whores!
The Jew casts off
his final cloak
and becomes
the blood Jew!
The tyrant becomes
the vampire of nations!
The vampire of the people
of Deutschland!
Blood Jew!
Blood Jew!
- Blood Jew!
- Blood Jew!
- The blood Jew!
- Blood Jew!
- Blood Jew!
- Blood Jew!
Blood Jew!
Blood Jew!
Blood Jew! Blood Jew!
Blood Jew! Blood Jew!
- You coming for supper?.
- Mm-mm.
No. I have to meet someone
at the Metropole at : .
- Can I drop you?
- No, l'd like to walk.
l should get more exercise.
- l'm seeing a hypnotist Monday.
- That's good.
- Are you sure I can't drop you?
- Kiss Mammy for me.
Oh God.
Leave him.
He's finished.